Community engagement
Policies and legislation: Police Reform
In 2001, the Government embarked on a major and sustained programme of police reform designed, at that stage, to improve police performance, modernise the pay and conditions of officers, and take forward the process of modernising the workforce. This delivered real and significant results, including falling crime, improved police performance, and record numbers of police officers.
However, the drop in crime levels has not led to an increased feeling of safely and confidence in communities themselves. More needs to be done to build a modernised and citizen-focused police service tailored to the needs of, and more readily accessible by and accountable to, the communities it serves.
Citizen Focused Policing
Citizen-focused policing is a way of working in which an in-depth understanding of the needs, experience and expectations of individuals and local communities is routinely reflected in decision-making, service delivery and practice. Ultimately, this way of working aims to improve both the responsiveness of the police to the needs and priorities of the local communities they serve, and the quality of police-citizen interaction and, in doing so, to drive up public confidence and satisfaction in the police. The aim is to move from a passive public as 'consumers' of police services over which they have little choice to a situation where local communities can actively support their police service, and have opportunities to shape and contribute to the way their area is policed.
In summary, the aims of citizen focused policing are:
- improved public confidence and feelings of security;
- improved satisfaction of service users;
- imcreased public involvement in policing.
Delivered through:
- more effective and ongoing community engagement;
- core standards for quality, accessibility and responsiveness of servcies;
- a supportive national framework which enables locally tailored solutions and effectvie partnership working;
- developing the capability of forces and authorities to be increasingly responsive to citizen needs.
Improving citizen focus is a strategic priority for all public services as part of the Government's wider public service reform and civil renewal programmes. Effective public services can only be sustained when they are fully aware of, and responsive to, the citizen perspective. This in turn will require the genuine engagement of communities and individuals in shaping public decisions and activities, and working in partnership with public bodies so that:
- public services reflect the views and concerns of the people they serve;
- the public has a greater sense of ownership in relation to the outcomes of public action; and
- public improvements are sustained by the active involvement of the affected communities.
How does this translate into action?
On the policing side, a programme of work has been agreed to drive a greater citizen focus within the Police Service, and to ensure that the police reform programme adequately reflects the priority given to improving the user experience of services within the wider public service reform agenda. This programme focuses around five key areas of work:
- improving user experience;
- neighbourhood policing;
- improving engagement;
- public accountability;
- organisational and cultural change.
The White Paper Building Communities, Beating Crime sets out how the next stage of the police reform programme plans to achieve some of this. The programme aims to move forward on some key elements of citizen focused policing, and has three broad aims:
The spread of neighbourhood policing for the 21st century to every community, and improved responsiveness and customer service:
- every community to benefit from neighbourhood policing by 2008. Government will deliver 25,000 CSOs and wardens by 2008;
- the public will see a more, visible accessible police presence in their community; they will know who their local officers are and how to contact them; local communities to be involved in establishing and negotiating priorities for action and in identifying and implementing solutions;
- new culture of customer responsiveness within the service. Guaranteed standards of customer service when anyone has contact with police in place by 2006 (see Quality of Service Commitment)
- it will be easier to contact the police; the way calls from the public are handled will be improved and victims will be better informed on the progress of their cases (see www.cjsonline.gov.uk). Any policing practitioner who would like to view the Office for Criminal Justice Reform's secure online victim and witness toolkit should email: ocjrenquiry@cjs.gsi.gov.uk to request a password.
- reducing police bureaucracy remains a major piece of work. Improved IT and civilianisation will make the biggest impact in the longer term, but we will continue to explore short term wins.
Further modernisation of the police workforce to ensure that the service is fully equipped and able to deliver these changes:
- increased use of police staff to get officers back on the front line; maximising the effectiveness of CSOs;
- enhancing and professionalising the role of police officers and staff;
- opening the service to new talent - entry for those with valuable skills at levels above constable;
- strengthening leadership at all levels;
- making faster progress on diversity.
Greater involvement of communities and citizens in determining how their communities are policed:
- information on policing to be provided to every household so that people know who is responsible for what, how they can have a say in setting local priorities and how well their local police are performing;
- police authorities will be more closely connected with and visible to their communities. They will oversee local consultation and their membership and role in holding chief officers to account will be strengthened (see www.apa.police.uk);
- the effectiveness of the police service as a whole will also be improved. This means effective leaders at every level within the police service, working with strengthened partnerships; better approaches to tackling cross border and serious organised crime; national coherence on issues such as sharing of intelligence; effective use of science and technological advances; robust performance management arrangements; and a national intelligence model effectively used by all forces;
- the partnership provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 would also be reviewed.
Neighbourhood Policing
Community Engagement is at the heart of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) led programme to 'Professionalise the Business of Neighbourhood Policing'. This joint programme between the Police Service, Home Office and Association of Police Authorities will aim to meet the ambitions set out in Neighbourhood Policing: your police; your community; our commitment.
Initially involving 43 Pathfinder sites, one for every force in England and Wales, the programme will help the Police Service to work directly with local people in identifying the problems that are most important to them, so giving them direct influence over local policing priorities. This requires genuine community engagement including, open dialogue, a willingness to prioritise issues and clear local ownership. Understanding the nature of communities and how best to provide information and feedback are vital in order to build trust and confidence.
By adopting this approach to neighbourhood policing the Police Service aims to achieve neighbourhoods that not only are safe, but feel safe too.
For more information on the Neighbourhood Policing Programme see www.policereform.gov.uk
Civil Renewal and Community Engagement
Civil renewal is about government and people working together to make life better. The vision for civil renewal was set out by the former Home Secretary, David Blunkett, in two key speeches ‘Active Citizens, Strong Communities – building civil renewal’: The Scarman Trust Forum Lecture (11 December 2003) and the Edith Kahn Memorial Lecture ‘Civil Renewal: A New Agenda (1 June 2003).
Civil renewal is the development of strong, active, and empowered communities, in which people are able to do things for themselves, define the problems they face, and tackle them in partnership with public bodies. Its three essential ingredients are:
- Active citizenship
- Strengthened communities
- Partnership in meeting public needs
Community engagement is the democratic process by which civil renewal is advanced. It operates at three corresponding levels:
- Enabling people to understand and exercise their powers and responsibilities as citizens
- Empowering citizens to organise through groups in pursuit of their common good
- Ensuring state bodies support the involvement of citizens in influencing and executing their public duties.
This can entail a range of activities and approaches: for example, through participation in the governance or direct delivery of public services, or through mutual aid. Community engagement adds value to policy and helps to build social capital and promote active citizenship. It is about helping to give people the skills, resources and opportunities to be active members of communities where they do not simply receive public services but contribute and actively take part in the way their communities are managed.
The ‘Together We Can’ Action Plan is the government’s emerging cross-government action plan for civil renewal. It is being developed to ensure that key government initiatives are identified and implemented to deliver real impact for communities.
The plan is still a work in progress and so is not yet published; however it draws upon three specific principles that underpin our approach to civil renewal and community engagement. It is vital for citizens and their state institutions to work in partnership to ensure:
- Responsiveness – public services reflect the views and concerns of the people they serve;
- Ownership – the public have a greater sense of ownership in relation to the outcomes of public action; and
- Sustainability – public improvements are sustained by the active involvement of the affected communities.
The Civil Renewal Unit supports a variety of activity including a research programme, which is managed and coordinated by Manchester University and a number of projects run directly from the unit. These include ‘Civic Pioneers’, which is a network of local authorities who have good practice on civil renewal and community engagement to share; the Active Learning for Active Citizens programme, which brings citizenship education to adults; and Guide Neighbourhoods, an action research programme which facilitates the exchange of information between residents experienced in regeneration with others.
Firm Foundations, published on the 8 December 2004 at the Together We Can Conference, is the government framework for community capacity building. It follows the Building Civil Renewal review and consultation and describes the steps being taken by government to enable more communities to help themselves and engage more effectively with public bodies.
The Active Citizenship Centre website – www.active-citizen.org.uk contains plenty of further information and numerous links to other websites under ‘what works’. Under ‘research’ you can find links to toolkits, see ‘Well Connected’ in particular, which would be useful guidance for developing strategies. The Civil renewal website also contains further useful information: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/comrace/active/civil/index.html
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